Re: Hand feel vs instrumentation: Pros and Cons of Both

[Dr. Jean Piaget]

At 17:57 21/12/98 +0000, you wrote:
>Dear Soil Moisture Fellows:
>
>I've always wanted to pose a question regarding the effectiveness of
>instrumentation vs the traditional method of the hand feel method and using
>weather based evapotranspiration models. So without further ado.....


Hi Richard,
At a guess I reckon that many farmers still go for the feel method as it
directly and personally involves them in scheduling.
A few years back when trying to involve extension officers in scheduling we
tested their ability to feel the water holding capacity of soils against
laboratory measurements. The results after a year showed that certain
individuals were more successful than others.  ( Like water deviners ? )
Also those that made more use of instruments with which to calibrate their
field feel estimates became quite adapt at actually scheduling irrigation.
Their higher level of interest and the fact that practice makes perfect
also played a role in their case.
Obviously the feel method is similar to playing the violon or trombone-some
can and some can't and of those that can some are better than others. So
why only play CDs.
Regards, Jean/